CPC Central Committee unveils key reform agenda

China’s top decision makers have unveiled reform guidelines for the next decade. Four days of discussion by the Party’s 204-member Central Committee has yielded a statement.

It sets the tone for how the world’s second largest economy will deepen reforms in the new stage, after the transformation began more than three decades ago.

China’s blueprint for the next decade. Xi Jinping, head of the Communist Party of China, has delivered a work report at the third Plenary Session of the Party’s Central Committee. He unveiled development guidelines for the country.

Xi Jinping said the Party has worked to speed up the development of a socialist market economy, democracy, cultural development, social harmony and environmental protection.

Faced with a complicated global environment, and pressures for domestic reforms and a more efficient development path, the party’s political bureau has upheld the spirit of the 18th CPC National Congress, leading the Chinese people in successfully constructing a socialist economy. The bureau has also been striving to ensure that the Chinese people enjoy the fruits of development.

After analysing major issues surrounding the need to deepen reforms, the statement affirms that "reform and opening-up" has been a successful revolution led by the CPC in the new era. It also adds that "reform and opening up" will decide the destiny of modern China, and will be key to ensuring the country adapt to a rapidly changing world.

The statement concludes with the need to deepen reforms in order to build a moderately prosperous society, and a strong and democratic country, as well as realize the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation.

China's political reforms

Ensure people are masters of their own fate

Ensure the country is governed according to the law

Provide political support for opening-up and modernization

In terms of political reforms, the meeting requires ensuring that the people are the masters of their own fate under the leadership of the Communist Party. We should insist on governing the country by law.

The session says the Communist Party should make its leadership more scientific and democratic. The Party must also be in the vanguard and clean to provide political support for opening-up and socialist modernization.

China's economic reforms

Strike a balance between government and market

Follow the path of "reform and opening-up"

Stick to the Party’s leadership and socialist road with Chinese characteristics

Learn from other countries' experiences

In deepening economic reforms, we must center on economic development, and the key is to balance the relationship between government and the market. The session also says we must follow the experience in the opening-up, and most importantly, we should stick to the Party’s leadership and the socialist road with Chinese characteristics. We must learn from other countries' experiences and encourage both theoretical and practical innovation. We must rely on the people in deepening reforms and promote the overall development of the people.

China's economic reforms

Build a unified and open market system with orderly competition

Allow the market to play a decisive role in resources allocation

Establish fair, open and transparent market rules

The session also proposes to build a unified and open market system with orderly competition, and allow the market to play a decisive role in resources allocation. China needs to accelerate forming a mordern market system in which enterprises operate independently, and compete fairly. The focus should be given to clearing market barriers and improving the efficiency and fairness of resources allocation.

It also stresses the need to establish fair, open and transparent market rules, for the market to decide prices, to build a unified land market between urban and rural areas, and finally to deepen technological innovation.

Tax and fiscal reforms are also a big focus. The plenum agrees that China must improve legislation, transparency and efficiency in order to build a modern fiscal system.

The plenum says China must promote internal and external openness, by both going global and attracting overseas investment. China needs to promote deep market integration and adopting a leading role on the international stage. China needs to relax investment access, speed up the development of free-trade areas and expand inland China’s openness to the world.

The session also stresses the importance of developing socialist democratic politics and developing grass-root democracy.

It proposes to deepen judicial reforms, by constructing an efficient and authorative socialist judicial system to safeguard people’s interests.

The session notes the key to putting power in a cage is to institutionalize the management of power, affairs and people, and to let the public participate in the supervision of power. This means a system of power administration that is scientific and well supervised, and another system that punishes and prevents graft.

For more equitable distribution of the benefits of development, the country needs to speed up reform in social affairs and education, and set up a system to create more job and business opportunities, and a reasonable, orderly income distribution system.

A National Security Committee has been proposed to improve the national security system and strategy.

The importance of innovation in terms of national defense and the military was stressed. This applies to military theories and improving military strategies and policies, which are key to building a modern military system with Chinese socialist characteristics.

To improve the party’s leadership and governing ability, a leading group is to be set up for the general design of reform.

The session calls on all Party members to unite closely around the Party Central Committee with Xi Jinping as the General Secretary. Together they will write a new chapter for China’s reform and opening up efforts, build a moderately prosperous society, achieve new victories in building a socialist country with Chinese characteristics and achieve the China dream of rejuvenating the great Chinese nation.